Q1 Reflections on the Impact of Freedom Debt Relief

When Brad and I first started Freedom, we believed that everyday Americans needed help with their debt. While there were many companies who existed to extend credit to consumers, no one was there to help people when they ran into financial problems or struggled with debt.

We founded the company to empower people to take control of their debt and strive for a better financial future. Over the past 16 years, we’ve remaining committed to this goal — achieving far more than I ever thought possible.

A few recent company milestones:

We have settled over $10 billion in client debt – a huge milestone. (In fact, we have recently passed the $11 billion mark). We now settle more than $200 million in client debt every month!

We have negotiated more than 2 million debt accounts for our clients, negotiating with more than 2 thousand different creditors.

We opened the second building of our Tempe campus, providing a beautiful new facility that includes a coffee bar and an 18,000 square foot café that serves delicious breakfast and lunch. We now have over 2 thousand teammates in our Tempe and San Francisco Bay Area offices.

We started this business in 2002, at the peak of the dot.com burst and during a stock market crash that left many feeling financially vulnerable. While consumer financial stress was high in 2002, we’ve only seen consumer debt continue to pile up in the past two decades – it is now at a record high of $13.5 Trillion.

After starting Freedom, we quickly learned that we could address our clients’ debts in ways that helped get them on a path to a better financial life. But until very recently, even we didn’t fully understand the impact we have on their lives. We wanted tangible evidence that we leave our clients in a better place – more capable of handling their finances, and more in control of their personal lives.

Late last year, we worked with Arizona State University to help us understand the answers to these questions. ASU conducted a study of over 3,000 people struggling with debt to understand the impact of Freedom Debt Relief on our clients’ financial and emotional health. The study used two established academic measures, the Financial Capability Scale and the Perceived Stress Scale, to track the financial health, perceived stress, and overall well being between FDR current clients, FDR graduates, FDR prospects who never enrolled, and the general debt-stressed population.

It turns out, when compared to those who qualified but never enrolled in the program:

Freedom Debt Relief graduates are significantly healthier financially – They
scored 24% higher on the Financial Capability Scale versus those who never
enrolled, indicating that they are more
financially capable. For example, they are more likely to have a budget and
spend less than their monthly income, and they are more confident they could
handle an emergency expense.

Freedom Debt Relief graduates are significantly less stressed about their
finances – They scored 21% lower on the Perceived Stress Scale versus those who
never enrolled, indicating they feel
less stressed. They are also are more likely to feel they are “on top of
things” and “things are going their way”.

Freedom Debt Relief graduates feel significantly better about their
personal lives – For example, 83% say they can take steps to improve the
quality of their life, 76% feel that their personal relationships are strong
and healthy, and 60% of them report they sleep well at night!

Less stressed.
Financially happier. Feeling better about their personal lives. And debt-free.

While I’m certainly not happy about the state of everyday American’s debt situations, I’m tremendously proud of the work we do at Freedom every day to help people strive for a better financial (and personal) future!

Andrew co-founded Freedom Financial Network in 2002 and Bills.com in 2005. Bills.com and FFN have been recognized by the Inc. 500 list, Entrepreneur Magazine’s Hot 100, and been named multiple times to the list of Best Places to Work in Silicon Valley and Phoenix. Previously, Andrew worked in the financial services industry, doing private equity investing with Littlejohn & Co., a $550 million private equity fund, and working in investment banking for Salomon Smith Barney. Andrew, together with co-founder Brad Stroh, is a past winner of the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award for Northern California. Andrew sits on the board of directors of several startup companies as well as two independent school boards. Andrew received his MBA from Stanford Business School, where he was an Arjay Miller Scholar and received a BA summa cum laude from Dartmouth College, where he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa.

Our Company

*Clients who make all their monthly program deposits pay approximately 70-75% of their original enrolled debts over 24 to 60 months. Not all clients are able to complete their program for various reasons, including their ability to save sufficient funds. Our estimates are based on prior results, which will vary depending on your specific enrolled creditors and your individual program terms. We do not guarantee that your debts will be resolved for a specific amount or percentage or within a specific period of time. We do not assume your debts, make monthly payments to creditors or provide tax, bankruptcy, accounting or legal advice or credit repair services. Our service is not available in all states and our fees may vary from state to state. Please contact a tax professional to discuss potential tax consequences of less than full balance debt resolution. Read and understand all program materials prior to enrollment. The use of debt settlement services will likely adversely affect your creditworthiness, may result in you being subject to collections or being sued by creditors or collectors and may increase the outstanding balances of your enrolled accounts due to the accrual of fees and interest. However, negotiated settlements we obtain on your behalf resolve the entire account, including all accrued fees and interest. C.P.D. Reg. No. T.S.12-03825.